Ratchet wrench



E. J. GANTZ RATCHET WRENCH Feb. 3, 1953 Filed July 2, 194a excessive pressure applied to the dogs in the use of the wrench. Coil springs 3| tend to press the dogs into the teeth of the ratchet 23. The inner face of each dog has transverse ribs 32 for a purpose which will be explained presently.

A collar 35 is rotatably mounted on the outer face of the wall H and is manually rotatable to a limited extent in opposite directions on said wall. The outer face of the collar is knurled so that it may be actuated manually. The outer end of the collar is closed by an end wall 35 having a central opening 31 receiving the enlarged portion 24 of the arbor 26. Said end wall also has four arcuately shaped slots 45. A pair of diametrically disposed arcuately shaped lugs 4| project inwardly from the end wall 35, and are received between the two dogs of each pair 21 and 25. The outer curved face of each lug has ribs 42 adapted to engage the ribbed portions 32 of the dogs, as shown in Figure 4, to prevent accidental disengagement of the lugs and the dogs.

An end plate 45 has a plurality of apertured bosses 46 projecting inwardly therefrom and into the arcuate slots 45 in the end wall 35 of the collar 35. The apertures in the bosses extend through the end plate and are aligned with threaded wells 4'! in the wall ll of the shaft enlargement to receive screws 48 for securing the end plate to the body l6 and for retaining the collar 55 and the ratchet gear 23 in place.

The operation of my wrench just described is as follows: The collar 35 When revolved in one direction, as shown in Figure 4, will cause the lugs 41 to engage the dogs or pawls 29 and move them to an inoperative position against the tension of the springs 3! so that the ratchet 23, together with the shaft 20 will be locked temporarily to the body by the dogs 21 for turning the socket 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 4 for screwing a nut up tight. When the collar 35 is rotated in the opposite direction, the lugs 4| will release the dogs 29 and move the dogs 21 to an inoperative position for unscrewing a nut or bolt by the socket 22. The interlocking ribs or teeth 32 on the dogs and the ribs or teeth i2 on the lugs 4| will prevent the lugs and dogs from becoming separated when the lugs have been positioned by the collar 35.

The shank i2 is operated by a handle 45 which includes a rod 46, a socket 41, adapted to receive a square end 48 on the shank, and an adjustable hand grip 49. The hand grip may be placed at right angles to the rod 46 (Figure l) or said grip may be rocked until it is aligned longitudinally with the rod (Figure 5) for greater leverage.

The rod 46 has an enlargement 55 at the inner end thereof and said enlargement is bifurcated to receive a flattened end 51 of a rod 52 of the hand grip 49. The enlargement has a cut-out portion 53 to receive a tongue 54 on the flattened portion 5! for retaining the rod 52 aligned with the rod 46. A spring-pressed detent 55 seated in a socket 55 in the enlargement 55 is adapted to engage a notch 51 in said enlargement for maintaining the rods 46 and 52 longitudinally aligned, or to engage a notch 58 for retaining the rod 52 at right angles to the rod 46. A sleeve 55 is received by the rod 52 and is held in place by the head 5| of a bolt 62 threaded into an axial passage in the outer end of the rod 52. The sleeve rotates on the rod 52 to protect the hand of the operator. A bolt 64 provides a pivot for the flattened end 5! of the rod 52.

An extension may be applied to the sleeve and includes a solid rod 65 having an axial socket 65 for the reception of the sleeve which has diametrically disposed lugs 61 entering notches 68 at the free end of the cylindrical wall of the socket 66. A connecting sleeve 10 has an inturned annular flange H at one end which is provided with diametrically disposed notches 12 through which the lugs 61 pass when the connecting sleeve is slipped onto the sleeve 60. The sleeve 16 has a reduced split section 13 provided with an annular grooved portion 14 engaging over an annular rib 15 on the socket portion 66 of the rod 65.

The detent engages the notch 5! (Figure 5) when the rod 52 is extended longitudinally of the rod 46 and the flange 54 is seated in the cutout portion 53 on the enlargement 58. The connecting sleeve 10 mounted on the inner end of the rod 65 by the rib l5 and groove 14 combination is slipped on the sleeve until the flange ll engages the lugs 61. The sleeve 15 is turned until the notches i2 align with the lugs 51 when said sleeve is forced inwardly to clear the lugs and the sleeve is turned to move the notches out of alignment with the lugs so that the lugs and flange will prevent accidental displacement of the extension from the sleeve 60. The extension thus applied will increase the leverage of the handle 45 for removing frozen nuts or bolts.

The bosses 45 on the stationary cap 45 (Figure 3) limit the rotary motion of the collar 35 in opposite directions. When the collar and the integrally formed plate 35 are rotated in one direction, one end of each slot 45 is engaged by the associated boss, while when the collar is moved in the opposite direction, the other end of the slot will be engaged by the associated bosses. The lugs 4i, when moved to a neutral position halfway between the dogs 2? and 29, will not act on the dogs and the two pair of dogs will be in engagement with the ratchet 23 and either direction of rotation of the handle 45 (Figure 1) will cause rotation of the shaft 25. However, when only one pair of the dogs are engaged, the rotation of the handle in one direction will either tighten or loosen a nut, while the handle may be returned to its former position by the reverse rotation thereof. At this time, the engaged pairof dogs will ride idly over the ratchet 23.

What I claim:

A ratchet wrench comprising an elongated shaft having on one end a tapered enlargement provided in its outer end with an axial bore and a counterbore at the other end of said bore, an annular marginal wall on the end of said enlargement circumspatially surrounding said counterbore, said Wall having angularly spaced apart dog receiving pockets therein, a ratchet gear seated in said counterbore and having an arbor journaled in said bore, a stud projecting from said ratchet gear outwardly of the corresponding end of said shaft, ratchet gear engaging dogs pivotally mounted one in each pocket of said annular wall and arranged in two pair with the two dogs of each pair relatively opposed, the portions of said annular wall between pockets receiving the two dogs of each pair of dogs overlying the pivoted ends of such dogs and serving as abutments for applying pressure to the dogs, a manually rotatable annular collar mounted on said annular Wall and having an end wall overlying the enlarged end of said shaft, said end wall having an aperture receiving said stud and spaced apart arcuate slots therein, a pair of arcuately shaped lugs carried by said end wall and disposed one lug between the two dogs of each pair, an end plate overlying the end wall of said collar and having an aperture receiving said stud, screws extending through the end plate and into the enlarged end of said shaft to secure said end plate and said collar to said shaft, said screws extending through corresponding slots in the end wall of said collar to limit rotational movements of said collar relative to said shaft, and spring means acting between said annular wall and said dogs resiliently urging said dogs into engagement with said ratchet gear, said dogs being alternatively movable out of engagement with said gear by said lugs upon manual rotation of said collar and said lugs and said dogs having mutually engaging ribs thereon to releasably secure said lugs in operative engagement with said dogs against accidental displacement.

EMMETT JUNIOR GANTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,442,003 Rohrer Jan. 9, 1923 1,522,995 Bate Jan. 13, 1925 1,715,902 countryman June 4, 1929 2,289,137 Matter July 7, 1942 2,407,468 Becker Sept. 10, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 529,380 France Sept. 8, 1921 

